Blood From Stone
by rebel.angel.1995
Summary: A collection of short snippets from the life of Mara Cadash. Focusing on her exploits and her developing relationship with the strange spirit-human.
1. I Want to Know Your Name

A/N: If you'd like any continuations to the snippets, let me know!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age, unfortunately **

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><p>"I want to know your name."<p>

Mara Cadash's head jerked up. She was working at her desk, going over paperwork Josephine has been on her to do. After a month long trip to the Western Approach, Mara had a lot of work to catch up on. It was, of course, Cole. He was the only one who could sneak up on Mara without her catching him. She tilted her head in response to his question.

"Why would you want to know that?" She asked.

"You don't like it. When the call you the Herald. You say you are the Herald. You aren't sure it's true. You wonder if you're lying. You know that you have to say it. You should say it. Its better for the Inquisition. Still, you don't like it. Inquisitor is better, but its not your name. You wonder why heroes always lose their names. But you don't think you're a hero. You are though, a hero."

"I'm just the person making decisions when nobody else would," Mara disagrees politely.

"Rough, harsh, like sandpaper with everyone but me. Soft, kind, like satin. Why?"

Mara rubbed the bridge of her nose, "You're not like everyone else - it's not that I'm babying you Cole- you don't deserve that."

"Motives? What does he want? Everyone always wants. Everyone always takes. What will he take from me? His eyes, wide, innocent, sincere. No lie behind them. What if he doesn't? The first. The only. He's special." Cole mumbled under his breath, though Mara could easily hear him in her quiet room. Her blue eyes stared at him while he avoided her gaze.

"Yes, that about sums it up." Mara agreed, trying not to marvel over his ability. Their roles switch. Mara pretended to be reading over some form while Cole's eyes burned into her.

"You think everyone else wants something from you." He stated.

"They do, in their own way." Mara elaborated, "Cullen wants redemption. Josephine wants her family restored. Leliana wants this task to succeed-"

"She sees the hero when she looks at you."

"Exactly. Varric is also looking for redemption. He thinks the red lyrium and all of this is his fault. He's here to try to put that right. Solas is here for himself, he wants to get new experiences to make the Fade more interesting for him and also save the world. Cassandra wants to right past wrongs. She wants to fix the Chantry and the Seekers. She wants the Inquisition to be a symbol of that. She wants me to be a symbol for that. Dorian wants to prove that not all Tevintars are bad. He's here to be a part of something better, for himself. I have to succeed or else he's wasted his efforts. Vivinne is here because this is the next step that she needs in whatever social climbing game she's playing. Blackwall is here to prove that Grey Wardens aren't a lost cause. The Iron Bull is here because we're paying him and also because the Qunari want him here. Sera is here because she wants something- I'm not sure what yet."

"Motivations, twisted, but reflecting truth."

"I know their our friends," Mara tried to explain, understanding that her mind must be difficult for someone like him to understand, "And I care about them. But in their own ways they're using me. That's why none of them use my name. I'm the Inquisitor to them because I have to be. My first name doesn't matter. It's better no one knows it. The Inquisitor can't be a person. I'm a symbol. Symbols don't have names."

"But you want to hear your name. You need it." Cole said, insistent. Mara's lips flickered up at his utter wholehearted desire to help her.

"I do, but it won't help."

Mara rested her head in her heads and when she raised her head Cole was gone.


	2. Falling

"Let me go," Mara instructed Cole. Her legs were dancing in the air, vainly kicking at the cliffside trying to get footing. There was none to be found. Her blue eyes darted down. It wasn't a sheer fall. There was a ledge not too far away. She could land on that, she hoped.

Cole clutched her wrist so tightly Mara was afraid he was going to snap it. At her command his hand seemed to tighten further. Her bones groaned. Mara was sure he knew he was hurting her but he didn't slacken his grip. He was afraid of her slipping through his fingers.

"No," Cole shook his head. His blonde hair was flopping around helplessly. His hat had fallen off, and was somewhere beside him, teetering off the edge. He was laying on his back, holding one of his daggers out blocking an attack from one of the walking corpses they had stumbled onto. Mara wasn't sure how he managed to hold her from this awkward position. The way his wrist was bent looking terribly uncomfortable. It was impressive.

No matter how much Mara stretched her free hand couldn't reach the cliffside and the edge was sheer nothing to grab onto. There was no one she could grab on and there was no way Cole could pull her to safety before he was cut in two. "You have to, Cole. You can't protect us both." Mara's voice dropped in volume, a soft comforting whisper, "It's okay."

"No." Cole insisted, his voice raising in volume. Cole struggled against the sword bearing down on him. Mara knew his arm couldn't hold it at bay for long. Mara shook her head in frustration. Desperation rising up in her. He was going to get cut in half in front of her because he was too stubborn to let her fall. She wasn't about to watch him die. Nobody was going to die for her in front of her. She had seen and heard about to many acts of foolish bravery on behalf of the Inquisition and the Inquisitor. She struggled to raise herself up. Her arm muscled screamed at the dead lift she was endeavoring to do and the muscles in her stomach tightened painfully. Mara managed to raise herself enough that her lips brushed his knuckles in a soft apologetic kiss. Wisps of her blonde hair tickled the soft skin of his hand and then Mara bite down.

Cole yelped in alarm releasing her on instinct. Free from his grasp, Mara began to fall. His hand bumbled trying to grasp her again. Their fingers brushed but Cole's reflexes were just a fraction to slow to grasp her again, "NO!" He screamed, terror potent in his voice.

Mara hurtled down. Her compact body crashed into the ledge. Her body slammed down, sending blinding white stars into her vision. Mara was having trouble telling up from down and understanding what had happened. There was cracking noise that set Mara's head straight and made her stomach drop. Then suddenly the ledge broke free from the cliffside and began to rapidly slide down. Mara vainly clutched at the side of the ledge trying everything in her power to keep a hold on her only safety line. A large outcropping broke the falling ledge that Mara was clinging to in half, dislodging her and throwing her away like discarded trash. Her body smashed into the the cliffside then harshly slid down it, buffeted by the rough rocks.

By this point, Mara's vision was a blur of brown and black with splashes of the blue sky. Her body slammed into an outcropping and there was another crashing sound of rocks, then she was free falling. This time she was falling straight down into blackness. A scream tore from her lips but it was quickly smothered as her mouth slammed down onto a pile of rocks. She landed on stone with a crash that completely disoriented her.

Mara laid on the stone floor of the cave she had fallen into. She wasn't sure how long she laid there. The hole she had fallen through had been closed up by the shower of rocks her fall down the cliffside had dislodged. Everything was completely black and she was wasn't sure when she was awake or when she was unconscious, she slipped seamlessly between the two several times. Slowly her strength came back to her and she shakily rose to her feet.

Her tightly bound hair was now loose around her shoulders and when she put her fingers to her face. Her fingers brushed the sticky blood that dripped from her lips and various gashes that littered her face. As soon as her head stopped spinning, Mara dashed up the way she had fallen. The pebbles scattered around her feet and hands as she tried to climb the loose rocks that lead up to the hole she had made that had been promptly closed up. She barely managed to make it up as the rocks and pebbles crumbled under her feet threatening to fall and make a trip to the ceiling impossible. Mara's already cut and battered fists slammed into the newly formed ceiling. The pain was intense, blinding Mara momentarily but she ignored the pain, "Cole?!" she screamed hoping her friends were looking for her and were nearby, "Dorian! Iron Bull!" She screamed pounding her fists agains the ceiling. All she managed to accomplish was dislodging some dust that fell into her eyes and some small pebbles to shower her face. "Maker's balls!" She swore, resting her face against the rough surface. She took a deep breathe before she resumed screaming for help.


	3. Falling Part 2

"Scream all you want, no one can hear you."

The sentence wasn't intimidating in it's self. Mara had been threatened as a member of the Carta so many times it was almost impossible to intimidate her at this point. However, when the voice wasn't coming from a person or any body that Mara could locate in the dark that was intimidating. The voice was echoing around the cavern, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. The statement immediately chilled her to the bone and her hoarse voice died on her lips. She whirled around, blonde hair flying. The lighting was poor, only bits of light shone through some the rocks. The light was fading from a bright yellow to a dusty orange. It would be nightfall soon and the chances of her friends finding her alive were slowly waning. She couldn't see who was speaking.

"Who said that?!" She demanded after a few moments.

The disembodied voice laughed in reply.

"Not a good sign…" Mara thought grimly, her lips pushing tight together.

"You would not be able to pronounce it if I told you."

Mara's brows creased. This was another sign that this thing's presence was bad and she shouldn't be encouraging it. She turned her mind back to the task at hand, the thing she could deal with. There was no exiting the way she came so she needed to find a new way. Mara slid down the loose rocks she had been perched on and onto the floor where she had fallen onto. She began pushing her glove hands against where she perceived the walls to be, trying to have a gap or an exit. She met with little success as she worked her way around her entrapment, a misshapen circle, until her hands pressed against a part of the wall that gave a little. Mara pushed more firmly and the wall began to dissolve in a shower of pebbles. Despite the dust cloud that closed up her lungs, a hoarse cheer tore from her lips. Perhaps she wouldn't die in this hole.

The way forward was narrow. Mara was barely able to squeeze through. She fell into an underground passage way, her knees scrapping uncomfortably against the ground as her hands smacked the stone floor to stop her face forward descent. Her hands stung at the contact. They were her most needed ally if she was going to get out alive and they had been the most roughly treated during her fall. Her back was also turning against her. Her fall had broken her bow and shattered into pieces along with scattering all the arrows in her quiver. Her fall had also shattered her quiver, breaking it against her back. Mara had no mirror to examine her back but it felt like she had a large collection of bruises from landing on her quiver and bow. Luckily, Mara didn't feel any splinters, her armor had protected her in that regard. Gathering her strength Mara got to her feet and began to feel her way way forward and came to a wall. Turning to the left then the right she discovered that the way forward went on in both directions. She couldn't tell for how far. Mara had a choice to make. She turned to the right.

"I wouldn't go that way," the disembodied voice said.

Mara jumped at the voice. On instinct she looked around, although she knew it wouldn't do any good, "Why wouldn't you?" She asked after a few moments.

The voice chuckled as if she amused it by answering it, "You won't get out that way. You'll just get lost and then die."

That got, her attention, "What will I get if I go right, then?" She asked, suspicious of this voice.

"You might make it out." The voice answered.

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" Mara asked.

"Why would I lie?"

"I don't know, why would you?" Mara replied.

The disembodied voice laughed again. Mara shuddered at the sound. She couldn't say it sounded exactly sinister but something about it grated against her and made her want to run.

"I like you," the voice told her. Mara wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Mara began to move to the right slowly, one hand out in front of her to feel for a wall. She moved her hand from side to side brushing against the far too narrow passage way she was traversing. She had to be sure if there were any branch paths.

It wasn't the silence that was killing her. It was the little noises. Her feet scraping against the ground. The sound of her skin brushing against the rough material of the caves. Pebbles scattered as her feet created a grating sound that drove her to madness.

"What are you?" She couldn't help but ask, calling out into the darkness. Being alone in the darkness, she felt the need to reach out and connect with anything.

"The Helper," the voice answered back.

"'The Helper'?" Mara repeated in a skeptical tone. It was a deceptively nice name, Mara didn't trust it for a second.

"It's a title, one you can clearly repeat."

"And you want to help me?" Mara asked, still skeptical. If it were a demon it would want something in return.

"I've already have."

"What do you want in return?"

"You're a suspicious mite, aren't you?" The voice sounded amused instead of irritated like Mara expected.

"What, you don't want anything?" Mara asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I can help you get out of there," the voice offered.

"In exchange for what?" Mara pressed, wanting an answer.

"One of these days, sometime in the far future, I will come. Not for you but for someone close to you. I ask you do nothing but turn your head. Turn away and do not stop me. In reality, you have to do nothing at. Do nothing about it, when I come."

If she didn't take this offer, she wouldn't be there to turn away and this demon would take what it wanted. What did it matter if she took the deal? "No," she argued with herself, "I can't just turn my head. I can't just let something happen. I've done that too much in life. If I'm dead that's one thing. Being there and doing nothing is the same as doing whatever this thing is going to do."

Mara's hand gripped the wall, before closing into a tight fist. Her leather glove scrapped against the rock, damaging it further, "No," she breathed, nearly cursing herself in the next breath. Her voice came out weak and hesitant. Her usual iron tone was lost.

'The Helper' laughed, "You say that now, little one, but for how long will your will last out. In the dark? All alone?"

"My friends are coming for me," Mara protested bravely.

'The Helper' laughed again, "Of course they are, dear," it said condescendingly, "And how long have you been unconscious? Where are your friends now?"

Mara's stomach dropped low. How long had she been unconscious? She had been fading in and out for a while. Had it just been a few hours or had it been days? What if her friends had been looking for hours or days? What if they thought she was dead. It was a long fall and if they hadn't seen any signs of survival would they just assume the worst?

"I can find my own way out." Mara insisted, her voice sounding distant to her.

"Oh can you now? Go on then, you should be amusing to watch."

Mara's cheeks burned in embarrassment and anger. She would prove this 'Helper' wrong.


	4. Surprise

Pairings: slight ColexMara, friendship advisiorsxMara

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><p>The moment Mara heard the noise, she knew it was over. It was the sound of everything coming to an end. It was a rushing noise that was muted, like hearing waves crashing while you're underwater. Mara felt like she was underwater, drowning. Josephine's soft brown eyes were bulging at the news Mara had just delivered.<p>

"Excuse me, Inquisitor," she spluttered, "I believe I must have just misunderstood-"

"You didn't," Mara answered bluntly, "I said that the man isn't lying. He's my fiancee."

Leliana didn't say a word, she just sat down heavily. Mara was surprised that the Carta had managed to keep this a secret from her or perhaps Leliana hadn't been as detailed in her examination of Mara's previous life. Either way, the news took even the Nightingale by surprise.

Cullen slammed an armored hand on the table, "You're engaged and you never told us?" He demanded.

Mara was so estranged from the moment, she didn't even jump at the loud, sudden sound, "It never came up," she answered in a lame tone.

"What does he want?" Cassandra demanded, passing back and forth.

"To marry the Inquisitor, no doubt," Leliana said, recovering from her shock enough to speak, "His timing is very apt. He waited until you became world renowned. First at Adamant and then at the Winter Palace."

"Yes, if I were just a rebel heretic about to be put down, I doubt he would have surfaced," Mara agreed. Her head felt fuzzy and she felt unconnected from the moment.

"You don't have to marry him, Inquisitor. From your face I can this was an arranged circumstance, yes?" Josephine asked as tactfully as she could.

Mara nodded her head, seeming to be barely in the moment.

Cassandra put her hand on the dwarf's shoulder, startling her out of her stupor. Mara turned her head upward to look at the Navarran princess, "You don't have to marry him." Cassandra said her voice was as soft as Cassandra was capable of being.

Josephine immediately jumped in, "That's completely correct, betrothals end all the time. Circumstances change."

Mara nodded her head, "I have to marry him." She words disagreeing with her body language.

Everyone in the room almost fell over. Cullen slammed his fist into the table, "Haven't you been listening at all?" He demanded angrily.

Mara looked up from the floor, where her eyes had fallen, "I am. You don't understand Carta politics. He could make things very dangerous for my family. It's better to just marry him."

"You could bring your family here," Josephine offered.

Mara raised an eyebrow, "You would like me to bring my family, most of whom are wanted for more than one offense, who are lyrium dealing crooks, to Skyhold?"

"Okay, scratch that idea. But we could send members of the Inquisition to offer them protection."

"No you can't, we can't get involved in that sort of dealings. They'd be protecting them from more than just a spurned fiancee."

"So you marrying him is better?" Culle demanded.

"Yes, because his family has a cover business that is legit. They actually hide their Carta connections pretty well. It wouldn't be a scandal for me to marry him."

"Can you even trust him?" Cassandra demanded.

"Depends on what you want to trust him with," Mara answered.

"Is he dangerous to you?"

"I don't think so…"

After an hour of fruitless arguing with Mara, her advisors and Cassandra filed out of the room each one displeased with Mara's firm stance on the matter. Mara stayed behind, resting her elbows on the war table.

"You don't want to marry him," Cole's voice came from behind her. Mara didn't look up, "You shouldn't marry him."

"Why not?" Mara asked, turning her head to face him.

"He makes you unhappy."

"Maybe he won't always."

"He hurts you now. He hurt you in the past."

"We've been engaged since we were children. Children are mean. It wasn't serious."

"Scared. I don't want to marry him. Voice are so far away. Muddled, everything's muddled. Is this what drowning is like? I'd rather die then marry him. My family. He could hurt them, if he wanted. He could help them, if I gave him a reason. So I'll give him a reason. I have to marry him."

"I thought you'd like that. I'm helping people."

"You're hurting yourself."

"Sometimes you have to hurt to help."

"I don't understand. Helping, helps."

"Not always, Cole."

"I want to help you." Cole insisted.

"Then… just help me get through this…" Mara turned around and faced him. Cole didn't seemed surprised by the tears in her eyes.

He took a step forward, rubbing her arms softly, "Yes." He agreed.

Mara took a step forward, throwing her arms around him. Her head buried into his ratty shirt and she didn't even notice all the holes or whatever stains had gathered since the last time she and Josephine made him wash it. For the first time since was five Mara almost cried. She hugged him tightly, her shoulders shaking. A few of the tears that had gathered in her eyes were shaken from her eyes and slipped down her cheeks but no tears joined them. She couldn't cry. Carta thugs didn't cry.

Cole's arms encircled her slowly, rubbing her back comfortingly, like she needed to be help. Cole always knew what she needed. Mara hiccuped and shook harder but for the first time in a long time she felt safe. It wouldn't last, Mara thought, as her arms tightened around him, but for right now it was nice.


	5. AU:Geometric Irony

Pairings: mentioned BlackwallxMara, mentioned BlackwallxJosephine, slight MaraxCole

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><p>"What, are you going to do?" Mara looked up from the bar she was wiping down. The Cadash Bar was empty except for the boy with the floppy hat. She was getting ready for closing. Her lips quirked up at the appearance of the young man. He was the only person who came to her bar for her. He was a strange sort, claiming to be some sort of psychic empath. Mara didn't formerly acknowledge his abilities, though she wouldn't deny, he was very good at guessing - if it was guessing.<p>

"No hats inside, Cole," Mara instructed, dodging the question, and hiding the fact she was pleased to see him.

Cole's lips pulled down and he slipped the hat off his head, hugging it to his chest. If the hat weren't so large he would look like a southern gentlemen. As it was, the brim of his hat looked like it was digging into his chin and sometimes popped up and pressed against his cheek. It was an amusing sight that Mara endeavored to not laugh at.

"You're hurting. You have to do something." Cole said, concern in his voice. Mara slapped her rag down and looked up at him with exasperation. All of the minor irritations of the day and her frustration at being forced to talk about this boiled up at once, "Okay Mister Empath, what would you suggest I do?" She asked, "I don't even know Blackwall."

"He's a carpenter and he loves the Grey Warden series." Cole told her, in his 'I'm being helpful' tone. To be fair, that was more than she knew previously.

"Yes, yes. His job and his favorite book series. Now I know enough to get him to fall in love with me!" Mara threw her hands up in the hair, her tone was sarcastic, luckily Cole had known her long enough to being to pick up on sarcasm so he didn't get his hopes up for nothing, "All I know about Blackwall is I saw him after that witch cursed me and I fell in love. He's under the same spell. He cannot return my love and there's no way to break the spell."

"The dove sits in its cage, singing mournful for its lost love. It refuses food in dedication to its song. One day the singing stops."

"I'm not a mourning dove, Cole." Mara explained, after knowing him for as long as she had she could interrupt his weird ramblings a bit. She rubbed her temples in frustration. She wasn't sure if it was directed at Cole or just her situation in general, "Because Blackwall isn't my mate. He's in love with that Montilyet girl."

Mara sighed, trying to resume her task, "The only way I get Blackwall is if I help him get Josephine Montilyet and then break them up and seduce him," she explained, showing that she had given this some thought, as she rubbed the same spot on her bar counter, "First of all, that's a little dark even for me. Second of all, I don't see you with your boy scoutness allowing me to do that. Third of all, I don't know if my heart could take that." She slammed the rag on the table, "This is so messed up!" She yelled, anger burning in her. This wasn't fair. She was doomed because she happened to look to the left after she was cursed. If she would have looked to right she would have fallen in love with Anders who ran the Free Clinic, at least that was less likely to end in heart break.

Cole watched her, "What's a boy scout?" He asked.

Mara laughed, all of the tension releasing from her body, "Never mind, Cole."

She leaned her elbows on the table and watched Cole.

"What would you do?" She asked.

"I don't understand?"

"If you were me, what would you do?"

"If I were you, I'd be a boy and I'd be in love with a girl."

Mara rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Never mind…"

"Sorry, I didn't help? Did I? I did it wrong."

"You don't always have to help Cole. I like it when you're just you. It's weird when you try to change yourself and what you would say just to help."

"But everyone does that." Cole pointed out, and Mara had to admit he was right.

Mara smiled a sad smile, "I guess, but not like you do."

"You're sad."

"It's just unrequited love." Mara sighed, giving up on cleaning her bar. She jumped up on the bar and swung her small legs over dangling them. Cole tilted her his head back slightly so he could still look at her.

"Did you want a drink, Cole?" Mara offered, needing to keep talking to fill the silence.

Cole looked at her bemused, "You don't mean that question. You just want to keep talking. You said I shouldn't ever get drunk."

"One drink doesn't mean drunk." Mara said, dodging his accurate assessment.

"You don't want-"

"What do _you_ want, Cole?" Mara asked cutting him off.

Cole looked at her confused, "I don't understand."

Mara shook her head, "Do you _want_ a drink?"

Cole looked like a deer caught in the headlights, "Yes?"

Mara was pretty sure he was only saying yes because now she wanted him to say yes. But she took it anyway, because she did want him to say yes. She threw her legs back over the counter and started mixing him a drink that would taste good without getting him hammered. He was definitely a lightweight.

She made the drink in silence and Cole watched her silently.

"You know," Mara said, breaking the silence, "Blackwall comes in here sometimes, to wallow in his own unrequited love…" she sat the drink down in front of him. Cole examined it like a cat, his eyes flickering up to hers with concern.

"You hate to see him so upset…." Cole assessed accurately, again.

Mara turned around and leaned her elbows against the counter, looking at all the bottle of alcohol on her wall. She let out a hallow laugh as she realized what she wanted to do.

"You want to help even though it will hurt you." Cole stated sadly. She didn't know how he did that. It couldn't just be that he knew her well. He could do that before they were friends.

"It would hurt," Mara admitted, "but it would also help."

"You love him. Seeing him happy would help." Cole's tone was so sad, Mara's heart almost broke. Then she realizes she was feeling sorry for her, and she quickly amended the self pity.

"Yeah…"

"I want to help you." Cole said, taking a timid sip of his drink.

Mara smiled at him, but it was a bittersweet smile, "Alright, thanks, Cole."

"Thank you, for the drink and for letting me help."

Mara shook her head in bemusement. Only Cole would thank her for letting him help, "No problem, Cole."


	6. AU:Subject 0017

Another AU? Yes, another AU. Please Comment and Review!~

Pairings: none yet

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><p>She woke up. She woke up in the same room she always woke up in, in a completely whitewashed room, on a too firm mattress, on a bed that was bolted to the floor. Her room was a tiny cell, with no windows and one swinging light that turned on and off automatically. She wasn't sure what times it turned off. It felt consistent. She had tried to count the hours and she had it roughly figured that it stayed off for about 9 hours. She wasn't sure if it varied but it didn't feel like it. The floor and the walls and ceiling appeared to be made out of the same material. It was white and colorless and always cool to the touch. The room was always the same temperature.<p>

On the other side of the room there a bookshelf with exactly 12 books: "Sophie's Choice" by William Styron, "The Ides of March" by Thornton Wilder, "The Agony and the Ecstasy" by Irving Stone, "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner, "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf, "The Trial" by Franz Kafka, "One Thousand and One Nights", "The Stranger" by Albert Camus, and "Paradise Lost" by John Milton. Besides all being depressing, to different degrees, and all being good, to different degrees, there was no connection between the books besides the fact that they were fiction.

They had taught her a lot of things about the way the world was supposed to work. Like that she should have a family and a name. She couldn't give herself a family but she had given herself a name, 'Mara'. Mara wasn't sure if it was a real name. None of her characters had that name, but she hadn't wanted to name herself after them. They were like people, her friends, she wasn't going to steal their names, so she made one up. It was a pleasant sound at least. The bookshelf was also bolted down.

In the corner of the room was a toilet, a sink, and a small faucet which she could bath with. Towels, changes of clothes, toilet paper, and other basic necessities were dropped into her room through a metal drawer weekly. Her clothing was always the same, a white button up shirt and white pants. There was no mirror in her room and nothing, with the exception of the books, was any color but white.

Nobody had been in her room for 180 days. She kept count by caving the wall of her cell with a spring she had pried loose from her bed. Her count wasn't accurate, it had taken her a while to realize that nobody was coming back. A week, a few days, Mara wasn't sure. She had another count of how long she had been held in this cell. It was off by a few months, Mara was sure, maybe longer. That one had too many marks for her to count. Before that, Mara couldn't remember. She remembered labs, people in masks, pain. Then her hand started to glow. Then she was locked up in her cell and then she was left.

Every day was like the other. Mara woke up. There was food waiting for her in the metal drawer. She ate then put the dishes back in the drawer. She would bath, brush her hair and teeth. Then she would read a book, or sketch on the walls. Then she would smell food again and she would eat her second meal of the day. Then she would exercise, running laps in her tiny cell or doing exercises. She sung songs that she made up or beat her feet in the ground to rhythms she made up. By the time she was tired there would be more food. She would eat again, and then get ready for bed. If she timed it right, she would just be getting into bed and have maybe time to read one chapter before the lights went out. Then she went to bed and was woken by the light the next day.

Today was different. Mara didn't wake up because the single lightbulb turned on. Instead she woke up because she was bathed in red light. Mara jerked awake. Everything was pulsing with a red light. She swung her head about her room, except for the strange red blaring light everything was the same.

"Is this some sort of an alarm?" Mara wondered.

As soon as Mara was getting used to the red light, a blaring sound began. Mara covered her ears and was tempted to hide her face in her pillow. She had no idea what was going on. She never experienced anything like this before. Then she heard the sound of air escaping like someone had put a lot of pressure on a mattress and suddenly released the pressure. It was coming from the door that Mara had tried to pry open many times. Perhaps the door had unlocked, Mara wondered. She released her ears and crawled out of bed. The floor was cold like always but Mara barely noticed. Curious and hopeful, Mara got up and padded across the cold floor to the door.

Hesitantly she reached for the door. Her hand slowly grasped the handle and she turned it. Mara could hardly believe it. The handle never turned no matter how hard Mara pulled. For a moment she just stood there. Then she pulled. And remarkably, the door opened. More surprising then the door opening was the water that rushed in when she did. It didn't even come up to her ankles but the water was so cold Mara jumped at the sensation, much colder than the floor. Concern marked itself on Mara's face.

"Just what is going on?" She wondered, stepping out into the hallway. The water was out there as well, the same amount that rushed in. It didn't even crest over the top of her ankle. The hallway was the same annoying white walls and floor of her cell. There was nobody running around frantically. There was nobody in general. Not that Mara let that ruin her moment, in fact, it rather made it. There was nobody to lock her back in her cell. And she was outside of her cell for the first time in her entire memory. The hallway ran in both directions for a long ways. To the right the hall ended, to the left the hall turned. There were windows though at the ends of the hallway, "Outside!" she heart screamed, imagining what nature would be like in real life and in the flesh.

Mara took another step before she thought about her friends, her books. Mara turned around. She couldn't leave them, but she couldn't carry them all. She went back into her room and stared at her bookshelf agonizing for a moment. Then she realized that she didn't know how long her window of opportunity was. At any moment someone could run over and slam her door shut. She reached forward and blindly grabbed "One Thousand and One Nights" and "Paradise Lost". These two her favorites she had read them many more times than the others. If everything went well she would come back for the others. But just in case she couldn't come back she took these two. Mara headed out of her cell for the second time, apprehensive but giddy at the same time.


	7. Dungeon or Basement?

"I told you he had a dungeon," Mara said smugly. Both she and Cole were chained to the cold stone walls. The only light that shone through was through tiny horizontal windows that offered no view and little light.

Cole looked around appraisingly, "I don't know if this counts as a dungeon." They were after all only one floor underground. They were chained to walls yes, but there were old rusty tools and furniture stored not too far away from them. It was more like a makeshift dungeon or a converted basement.

"It's creepy and underground. What more do you need?" Mara asked, getting straight to business. She swung her legs up until the rested above her head head and against the wall she was chained to.

"What are you doing?" Cole asked curiously.

"Breaking out," Mara responded, her face turning red as her muscles protested her moments. Slowly she rolled her legs forward until her knees were bent and resting against the wall. Then she slowly slid her legs down until her fingers could just reach the top of her boots, "I have my lock picking kit in my boots."

"You wore it on your hip."

"What you think I just proudly display my only pair of lock picking equipment?"

Cole fell silent. Mara shook her boots trying not to think about how it felt like she was wiggling her butt, with Cole in the room. At least she had an excuse for her red cheeks. She felt the satisfaction of the cool metal falling into her hand. She swung her legs back down and shook her fist triumphantly.

Cole smiled at her in return, "You got it!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, yes I did. Now time to pick my way out of here!" Mara rolled onto her toes, relieving some of the pressure on her wrists so she could get a better angle for her work.

Cole tilted his head watching Mara while she worked. Mara's blue eyes flickered over to Cole's. Was it just her imagination or did his eyes look a fraction or so lower then they should be? A flush developed on her face, "What are you looking at?" She yelped accusingly.

Cole tilted his head to the side, "You?" He answered sounding confused. Mara's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She shouldn't have assumed the worst. Cole was still getting used to being human. He probably wasn't having those sort of thoughts yet. She shook her head and went back to work.

After a few minutes she heard the satisfying click of her cuffs, "Haha!" she exclaimed, "Success." The pressure on her wrists went slack and she slipped her wrists out. Padding across the floor she discovered another problem.

"You don't have a plan for reaching my shackles," Cole pointed out.

"I'm working on it!" Mara said defensively, "Though…" she admitted after a moment, "I am open for suggestions."

Mara looked around everywhere for something to stand up on. Then she heard the door swing up. Mara panicked and tried to look for somewhere to hide. She hadn't even thought about finding her missing bow. She was weaponless and there was a guard coming!

"Your Inquisitorialness?" Varric's voice came from up the stairs.

"Varric?" Mara asked, relief flooding her.

"What are you and Cole doing in the dungeon, I thought you'd too would be out by now."

Mara turned her head to face Cole, "Ha," she proclaimed proudly.

Cole shook his head but smiled nonetheless.

"Come on, Varric. I need your help," Mara announced. Varric walked over and looked over the situation.

"Oh, I see your problem."

Mara nodded her head, "Not easy, no? Let me get on your shoulders."

"Wait, what?" Mara didn't wait for his approval, she was already trying to scramble onto his shoulders. Varric, knowing that it was better to let the Inquisitor to have her way once she had made up her mind, bent down to help her.

Mara on Varric's shoulders was just tall enough to reach Cole's shackles, "Haha!" Mara exclaimed triumphantly. Cole chuckled softly at her enthusiasm. Not wanting to waste any time, Mara began to lock pick Cole's shackles.

"Hurry up, Inquisitor," Varric complained.

"Is that a comment on my weight or your strength?" Mara asked, looking down at Varric. She felt Varric's muscles tense beneath her legs.

"Neither, Sparkler and Tiny can't hold off his guy's never ending supply of soldiers forever."

"I'm working on it, just hold still." Mara instructed without pity for Varric's plight.

"Nobody respects the dwarf…"

"He says to the dwarf."

"Hey, that's my thing!"

Mara chuckled under her breath and her laughter caused her shake a bit on Varric's shoulders. Her weight slide forward and suddenly she was bumping noses with Cole. Blue clashed with blue as the two befuddled young adults stared at each other.

"Whoops, sorry," Mara apologized her cheeks beginning to feel warm. She slide her weight back, putting some space between herself and Cole. Though now she was painfully aware of how close their faces were.

"Soft warm wind on my cheek. Pale and pallor but soft. Only for a moment, we touch. Thin and wide. Pale like satin. Would they be soft? Chains rattling. How far could he lean? How far could I?"

Varric chuckled under his breath.

"I want to lean forward. Eyes, watching, judgement. I-"

"Okay Cole that's enough!" Mara exclaimed, slapping her hand over his mouth with slightly too much force that made her feel immediately guilty, "Be quiet or I swear I will leave you." She removed her hand and ignored her glowing cheeks.

"No, you wouldn't." Cole immediately said.

Mara shook her head and focused on her task. Varric chuckled beneath her hard, causing her to sway slightly. She tightened her thighs around his neck for more than one reason.

"Ack, can't breathe, Cadash." Varric rasped.

"I know," she responded in a tone too sweet to be sincere, "I was worried I would fall off. You're shaking like a leaf." The threat was barely masked. She released the pressure, "Don't mention this, ever, dwarf," she threatened.

"Never, Inquisitor," Varric swore in a dramatic tone that promised trouble.


	8. Silhouette

Sorry for the short length, winter break draws to a close.

Pairings: early development/hints of ColexMara

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><p>Mara gritted her teeth as the obnoxious voice of Envy droned on, filling the halls that it had created to trap her in. With each passing second Mara grew thankful that she was a dwarf and did not usually dream or ever go into the Fade. It seemed like an awful place to be.<p>

"You act so high and mighty," Envy's voice said, echoing all around Mara's small shape, "Like you're above what I show you. Like you would never. Is that true though, I wonder? What about all the things you did before. Are you so changed now, I wonder?"

Mara gritted her teeth. She remembered all the calls she had made as head of the Cadash family. The lives she had ruined. The people she had hurt. She always tried to mitigate the hurt and avoid it if possible. She arranged things so at the end of the day she could tell herself that they did it to themselves. She had given them a chance and they had blown it. It wasn't the full truth though, and she knew it. What else could she have done. She might have power over the Cadash family but she had little power in the Carta. They could ruin her, kill her, and her family. It was her duty to protect her family.

"I did what I had to, to survive!" she howled at the ceiling, immediately regretting it as a witch like cackle filled the air. She shouldn't be talking to the demon, she was only making it stronger. The comforting voice of the strange scarecrow boy came to her, Cole, "You don't have to do any of these things. You can help." His words washed over her, "Don't listen to Envy. It only hurts. You're stronger than that. You're getting stronger."

Could she help? Was what Cole said true? Mara knew she was broken. She was a broken vase, smashed and cracked pottery on the ground. She was jagged and people cut themselves on her edges. But you can piece a vase back together. She was different from this Envy. Mara could grow and change. Envy could only copy.

Mara raced up the final steps and came face to face with Envy. She came face to face with her copy. Mara wasn't afraid anymore. Everything Envy had shown her had just proven to her how much she had improved so far. She knew she would never do the things Envy had shown. She was better than that. She was better than Envy. All Envy was a shadow. Not even her shadow, but a shadow trying to pose at her. All the potential for darkness was reflected in this ugly shadowy depiction of herself, but it wasn't her. This fake Mara was nothing but a silhouette. The real Mara was capable of so much more.


	9. AU: The Boy in the Water

"I don't believe in mermaids, I don't believe in mermaids…" Mara chanted, looking purposefully away from the boy half submerged in the water. "You can keep saying that…" The boy's voice said, breaking through Mara's mantra and destroying the illusion she was attempting to paint. Mara, who was purposefully facing away from him (as if she could pretend he was just a trick of the light in ther corner of her vision) looked sideways at him. Blue met blue as their gazes connected

"I won't go away."

"Mermaids aren't real," Mara insisted, throwing her hands up in the air, as if her verbally denying his existence would make him go away. And as the boy had just told her. He wouldn't. "I'm Cole," the merman told her, completely ignoring her steadfast denial of his existence. "Mara," she replied, before realizing she was introducing herself to a figment of her imagination. Her body visible recoiled from her words as if she were trying to pull them back into her. She groaned, playing along with illusion was not going to help.

"I'm real," 'Cole' told her. "Oh yeah?" Mara challenged, "Then how can you read my mind! Mermaid magic?!" She demanded. Cole shrugged his boney shoulders. Mara fought against her baser instincts that urged her to examine his lean muscles. "I can tell from you face. I can't read minds. But I can tell what people are feeling. I don't know how. I just can." He told her.

Mara shook her head in disbelief at his volunteered information. She was officially losing her mind. She had to hand it to herself. This was a very well thought out delusion. Although she would think her mind would give her a delusion she would enjoy instead of freaking her out by creating a merman.

There was an awkward distance between them for two people having a conversation. Cole was leaning up against the small drop from the abandoned pier to the ocean. Mara was on the solid ground a few paces away, high up on a rock where she had fled to when Cole had first made his appearance.

"Do you come up to visit here often?" She asked suspiciously. There was nothing else for her to do. She couldn't go back to her family after their huge fight, at least not yet. She might as well indulge in her this delusion. "Yes," Cole replied, "But they don't remember me. I can make people forget."

"Handy ability," Mara said. It would explain why nobody was claiming that mermaids existed. Outside of crazy people. Mara shook her head. Nobody was claiming to see mermaids because they didn't exist. This was all in her head. Cole nodded not fully understanding that Mara wasn't really complimenting him, "I want to help."

"Help?" Mara asked, not sounding hostile, just confused.

"Your sadness, was calling out to me."

"Sadness? I'm not sad," Mara denied with a frown.

"Pressure everywhere. Pushing me down. Why don't they leave me alone? So much to do. So much to prove. How can I ever live up to what they want from me? Changing, molding me. I just want to be me."

"Shut up," Mara's voice cracked. Those weren't Cole's words they were her words, that she whispered to herself in the back of her mind. He was speaking words that she had never dared speak out loud. Those words weren't meant to breath air. "Your drowning," Cole said quietly, "You don't have to."

"Yes, I do! I mean I don't- I'm not drowning!" Mara exclaimed, her words all over the place. It was unnerving to have her thoughts thrown in her face. "You're lying." Cole stated it as a fact.

Mara groaned, "My parents expect me to be something great. Not just great, but their definition of great. I have to take over the family business because, I don't know why. I'm like my father?"

"You don't want to be."

"Wanting doesn't change reality."

"I hate him. He's older. He's supposed to protect me. But I protect him."

"Eric, my brother," Mara sighed, "I don't want to talk about him."

"You don't really hate him but you do. I don't understand."

"Do you have any siblings?" Mara asked, suspecting the answer. "No." Cole answered, sounding confused. "Then you can't understand." Mara said her tone cold. She sat down on the rock instead of crouching awkwardly on it and hugged her knees to her chest. The air was warm, it was summer on the island. It blew through her blonde locks, like a comforting breeze. She liked the ocean.

"I know somewhere you could go that would make you feel better." Cole offered sounding hopeful. "I bet you say that to all the girls," Mara accused. Maybe she was starting to believe in his existence but that didn't mean she trusted him. Her fingers gripped the groves of the large rock she was perched on tighter. Cole frowned, "This wouldn't have helped the other girls…. I said something wrong didn't I? I could make you forget and try again… but that wouldn't help. You might remember a bit and that would hurt you more."

"What's it like being a mermaid?" Mara asked, cutting off his rant. She had no idea what he was talking about and instead of asking him and likely getting more confused she changed the subject. Cole stared at her blankly for a few minutes and the his lips quirked up when he realized that he had helped a bit, "Like being a person, except underwater." Mara's lips quirked up at his blunt and straightforward answer. "How dangerous is it?" Mara asked curiously. She remembered a documentary she had watched on the Ocean once. They had claimed that it was one of the most dangerous places on Thedas. "You have to watch out for sharks," was Cole's reply. Mara _did_ laugh at that.

They continued to talk until it began to get dark. Mara drifted closer to Cole as they talked. Holding a conversation from several feet away was rather awkward. Now she sat on the pier in front of him. Cole was leaning his upper half against the pier, his pale arms making a stark contrast to her tanned legs that lay beside his. Mara had rolled up her long skirt, exposing some of her thighs so that she could dangle her feet in the water.

Mara found herself strangely enchanted by the boy. She had never met someone so odd, yet so enjoyable to talk to. He was very intune to what she was feeling, and for someone like Mara who avoided showing any reaction when she was bothered by something (which usually made conversations awkward and sometimes hurtful to her) it was perfect. Yes, it was weird mermaid magic, but it was still very useful. Besides his abilities, Cole himself was interesting. His way at looking at the world was so strange, Mara couldn't help constantly probing him for his take on things. Perhaps he was a bit naive, Mara knew that some people would have ridden him off as a child. They would have missed the subtleties of his character that she found so intriguing

"Splash of gold and red, dying beautiful, but leaves the world cold and empty. Strings of attachments, wanted and not, pull." Cole said, voicing Mara's thoughts aloud again in his weird interpretation. Mara shook her head. Only Cole would make 'the sun went down I have to go home' sound like some sort of epic adventure. "Yeah, it's time for me to go home," she supplied pointlessly. She wasn't sure why she said it, when they both already knew it.

Cole gives her a soft smile that makes Mara's heart skip a beat. Then he blinks and tilts his head. For a second Mara felt her stomach drop. She hoped he didn't see or feel or whatever he does to that thought that flickered across her mind. Then he smiled again, so bright and yet soft that Mara's pretty sure her heart just stopped altogether, "Oh," he said, his voice quiet almost a whisper, "I helped."

Mara reached forward and patted his head. His hair was lank and felt weird against her fingers, but not unpleasant. "Yeah…" Mara said, embarrassed, scratching the back of her head, "I guess you did." She admitted with a small smile. She walked off the pier without looking back but when her feet crunched uncomfortably against the shell covered beach she felt compelled to look back. "Will I see you again, if I come here tomorrow?" Mara asked as she half-turned back. She was glad that she could blame the sunset's lights on her pink cheeks. Cole nodded his head. Mara's blush intensified as she realized how it sounded, "I'm not saying I will!" She said loudly, pointing her finger at him.

Cole nodded his head again. They both knew that she would. Mara shook her head and walked off. When she glanced over her shoulder, the spot where Cole had been was empty. She sighed as loneliness swept over her. Her only friend, and it was some mythological creature that shouldn't exist. Just her luck, right?

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><p>please comment and review!<p> 


	10. AU: Geometric Irony Part 2

A/N: No Cole in this chapter.

Pairings: friendship JosephinexMara, mentioned JosephinexBlackwall, slight MaraxBlackwall

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><p>Mara leaned forward on the bar resting her chin in her hands. Since the new club had opened up down the street not as many people came to the bar. Not that it mattered. The family bar wasn't here to entertain the normal masses. It was here for a very select clientele, the seedy underbelly, people who her father and brother dealt with. All Mara had to do was run the bar and look the other way, not that she had much of a choice, even though Cadash Bar was all she had to her name. It wasn't like she was laundering money or anything. She was just painfully aware that a lot of the people who came to the bar were part of the Carta, the Cartel of the Free Marches (though honestly all of Thedas). Technically she was a member as well, but only by family relations, in name only. Mara shook her head at her depressing thoughts and tried to focus on her dreams and aspirations. Maybe someday she'd save up enough money to move away from Free Marches and start up her own bar. Orlais was far enough but Mara thought she might like Ferelden or Antiva better.<p>

Mara sighed again loudly. Her baby blues drifted out the window where the rain was pouring down hard. She thought about her day, earlier Blackwall had been in. He had been coming for a while now, Mara mused. He was slowly moving past bar regular into the territory of friend. Although Mara loved to see him, she wasn't sure if she liked their budding friendship (she couldn't use the word relationship, it would give her _hope_). Pining over a stranger was easier than pining over a friend. Before, Mara had never had to talk to him, even if she had wanted to. Before, Mara had never run the risk of getting even more attached- or saying something stupid. Still, Mara had to admit, she liked being his friend. Perhaps she could be satisfied with that? Mara tried to ignore the way her heart dropped at the thought of only ever being his friend.

Her emotions made her feel guilty, Mara knew Blackwall was hurting just like her. He managed to bring Josephine up at some point no matter what they were talking about. It was a cruel twist of fate that Blackwall happened to see Josephine after he had been cursed. They ran in completely different circles. Josephine was upperclass, Blackwall was directly in the middle class if Mara was being generous. The only reason Mara even knew Josephine, outside of Blackwall's obsessive love with her was because Josephine's siblings frequented her bar and on more than one occasion Josephine had shown up to drag one of her rowdy siblings out.

Mara sighed again, feeling particularly melancholy. The worst part of the situation was there was no way to rationalize it. Mara didn't have the luxury of claiming that Josephine was prettier than her or any of those things girls did when they were on the losing end of a love triangle. The whole situation was purely accidental. Blackwall could have saw anyone in that moment. He just _happened_ to see Josephine. Mara tried to comfort her aching heart with what she would do that crazy witch, Calpernia, should she ever find her. There was a bottle of good alcohol with particularly hard glass that Mara was saving for the occasion.

It had been a week since Mara had resolved to help Blackwall with Josephine. Mara felt as if she were getting no where with her resolution. She hadn't even given him advice yet. To be fair, she didn't have much advice to give. What did she know about winning crushes over? Her first love was with Blackwall, and that was a doomed love manufactured by a witch. Mara's thought process stopped abruptly at that. She had never realized how utterly _depressing_ that sounded.

Mara shook her head again. She couldn't wallow in despair, that wasn't going to get her anywhere. Deciding that she needed to do something or else she would continue to dwell, Mara pushed her weight off the counter and began to survey her bar. It was empty. On a rainy night like this she was unlikely to get any stragglers in. It was best to close up shop. She walked around the bar, getting everything ready for closing. Mara was just pulling on her jacket to leave when the door flew open and a dark skinned girl with a plethora of files bustled into her bar letting in the cold and the rain.

Mara openly gawked at the flustered woman who was trying to secure everything in her arms. What in Thedas was Josephine Montilyet doing in her bar? There were obviously no siblings for her to drag out. Someone like Josephine did not hang out at Cadash Bar. Josephine looked at Mara, her jacket already half off, her hazel eyes dimming as they took in Mara's state of departure. She let out a groan of utter despair. "Do not tell me you're closing up already?" She begged in her Antivan accent, "But you aren't supposed to close for another hour or so!"

Mara stared at her blankly for a moment, still trying to process what had just happened. "It's pretty dead," Mara managed to say after a second. Her voice sounded strained and weird to her ears; she faked a cough as an excuse to pause a moment to gather her composure, "So, I was going to close up early…" she trailed off. Mara almost never closed early. The money was already spent, she lost the opportunity to make money by closing early. There was nobody at her small apartment to miss her. Still, in a twisted sort of way, it would be rather satisfying to throw the woman who stole Blackwall away from her out of her bar. Oppertunities to get even with your rivals and have a personally rational and logical reason for doing so barely happened in a person's lifetime after all.

"I can keep the bar open for you," she said instead. Mara looked just as surprised as Josephine did by her words. She mentally berated herself while trying to figure out _why_ she had said that. Was she doing this for Blackwall? What wouldn't she subject herself for his sake?

Luckily, Josephine was too relieved to even notice Mara's shocked face, "Oh thank you, Miss Cadash! You are a treasure!" She exclaimed, bustling over to the bar. She dropped her slightly soggy files onto the table. Mara winced. She had just washed the table and now she would have to again. Josephine bustled back and took off her drenched coat, hanging it on the coatrack that Mara was suddenly thankful Cole had dropped off a day or so ago. He always seemed to know just what she needed.

Her thoughts of Cole warmed her a bit and made Mara more able to deal with this bizarre situation. Mara slowly made her way back behind the bar, dazed, "Can I get you something?" She asked. Josephine asked for a drink, an expensive drink. Mara couldn't tell if Josephine was just a snob about her drinks or if she was trying to make it up to her for keeping the bar open by buying one of the more expensive drinks. Either way, Mara made her the drink and passed it to her. Mara could admit that she had been tempted to spit in it. She had resisted the baser desire. After all, it wasn't Josephine's fault at all that she had captured Blackwall's heart.

Mara was surprised to discover that despite the strangeness of the circumstance that the novelty wore off quickly and she found herself Bored. She tilted her head slightly and watched Josephine pour over the documents she had been carrying. From what glimpses she caught of them, they looked complicated, boring, and tedious. "What are you working on?" Mara honestly didn't care about Josephine's life. She didn't want to talk to her. She didn't want to know her. Petty as it was, Mara had a fierce dislike for her on the principle that Josephine was unwittingly making her life miserable. But, she was bored, and boredom drove people to do strange things. "Oh, I wouldn't want to bore you," Josephine protested politely. Mara looked around at her empty bar and raised an eyebrow. Josephine laughed and nodded, "Alright, if you insist."

Mara quickly discovered that Josephine needed no partner to conversing. She told Mara everything Mara could have thought to have asked about, without any prompting. Apparently Josephine worked for an Antivian company that was just opening branches into the Free Marches. Her boss was a workaholic who didn't seem to understand that not everyone was. Although in Mara's opinion, Josephine seemed like a micromanager who couldn't pass off tasks to others because that would mean relinquishing control. Josephine was one of three assistants who worked for this CEO. There was a young man named Dorian who drove Josephine crazy with his flippant manner. The other was a young woman who was Josephine's friend but was apparently too business cutthroat for her taste so they crossed verbs swords often over the acceptable way to handle, well everything. Despite Josephine's rambling Mara was horrified to discover that Josephine was _pleasant_ to be around. To Mara's mortification, she discovered that she enjoyed Josephine's company.

"Ugh, Dorian never takes anything seriously, unless it suits him. Everything is just one big joke! Never mind that we have three high profile clients who need to be briefed. And every time Leliana offers to help her ideas are so manipulative and cruel I feel guilty for even thinking they might be a good idea!" Mara chuckled, "I know what you mean."

"You have a friend like that?" Josephine asked.

"Try my whole family."

Josephine laughed, "Do not get me started on my family."

"I know your family plenty. They are regulars."

Josephine groaned, "Do not remind me. I know your name so well because of how often I see it on our bills."

"Well thank you for paying for the new lighting," Mara joked. Josephine laughed before blinking as if just remembering something. "Maker! Have I been complaining for an hour?" She asked. "Two actually," Mara said with a laugh. Josephine shook her head, "I apologize-" Mara cut her off with a wave of her hand, "I'm a bar tender, I'm used to it. And besides I find you much more amusing then my usual customers who whine, puke on my floor, and then pass out." Mara was surprised and confused that she _meant_ every word.

"I am glad you consider me a step above that," Josephine responded with a wry smile, "This... this has been fun," she agreed, sounding just as surprised as Mara felt, "I really needed someone to talk to you. You are a very good listener. I see why your bar is so popular."

"You should stop by again sometime."

"I should," Josephine agreed with a slight smile, and she left Cadash bar with a lighter feel then she entered it with. Mara watched her leave before slamming her head down on her counter, not caring about the pain that immediately shot through her head. If things were screwed up before. Now things were _royally_ really screwed up. How could she like and hate someone at the same time?

"Why is it always me?!" She demanded to her empty bar.


End file.
